January 3, 2018 | The Texas Tribune
By Alexa Ura
Texas and opponents of the law—-voting and civil rights groups and individual voters of color—-most recently clashed before a three-judge panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in December over the law and state lawmakers’ attempts to soften it amid voting rights violations identified by federal courts. . . .
Now, it’ll be up to the three-judge [5th Circuit] panel to decide whether lawmakers did so on purpose — as U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos found in two rulings last year — and what the state’s revisions to the law in 2017 mean for the long-winding case.
It’s unclear when the appellate panel will rule in the case, and regardless of the outcome, that ruling will almost certainly be appealed to the full 5th Circuit or to the U.S. Supreme Court. As things stand today, Texans looking to cast votes in this year’s elections will have to comport with the state’s revised rules.
